N&W Y6a 2156's return to Roanoke -

It sure is a shame that N&W 2156 will not get the full "Trains Magazine treatment" as was done with the UP 4014 move. There is only one Y6a in existence, yet there are 8 UP 4000s saved.

An old ex-N&W railroader who is now deceased told me that the Y-6a was a better machine than the Y-6b. He told me that when the Y-6b was being designed, N&W wanted to continue to use of the Worthington BL style feedwater heater that was mounted on the fireman's side of the boiler, but was told by Worthington that it was no longer available, and to use the top mounted (ahead of the stack) type used by a lot of late steam. To install it on the Y-6, the stack had to be tilted, not in itself a big problem. However, evidently this heater arrangement also reduced the smokebox volume and the Y-6b did not "breathe" (his words; I would use the term "draft") as well as the Y-6a. In coal consumption testing from Roanoke to Bluefield (not sure of the route), the Y-6b burned 17 tons of coal, but the Y-6a burned 16. My old friend told me that they kept this information from "Race Horse" and were able to improve the fuel consumption slightly, but it was never as good on the Y-6b as the Y-6a.

He also told me that the Worthington "BL" was difficult to install. It took three men and a crane, and I thought he told me that it weighed almost 5,000 Lb. (Not sure of the weight either...) He told me that N&W devised a lifting fixture that made it easier to install.

I wanted to pass on this info from what I consider to be a reliable source.

That would really be the icing on the cake! I have heard that there are plans to recreate this photo...

I'd really love to be there for that.

Actually, the stack on all of the Y-6 series locomotives were tilted.  This was due to the use of the American multiple front-end throttle.  The reason for this is that the exhaust stand is in the same location as in the Y-5.  In order to clear the front-end throttle the stack is tilted 8 degrees from vertical.

As for the Worthington SA feedwater heater all that was needed to do was to extend the smokebox ahead of the stack for the mixing chamber.

Stuart

Probably because 1) there are no plans afoot I'm aware of to restore the Y6a to operation, 2) the Big Boy has a better press agent.

Rusty

Rusty

If the Y6a was superior in any way to the Y6b, I'm sure C.W. Pond & Co. would have used such a machine in the contest against EMD 359 on the Radford.  I have heard that the earlier Y6's had slightly better "bite" under certain circumstances, but the Y6b was prefered for time freight use, in the areas where they would not be using the A Class.

Upon further consideration...it is possible that the original Y6b smokebox of 1948 suffered in comparison to that of the earlier Y6 classes. The hot water pump was located directly underneath the smokebox front.  Could this installation have reduced the volume to a detrimental degree?  Maybe....notice that the non-traditional flat fronted Y6b's were not not repeated after 2193, IIRC.  The new/old Y6b front sure looks like it would provide a greater gas volume than the '48 version. This also corresponds to the time when other Y6 improvements were coming online, such as the highly effective "booster valve'' interceptor. To some folks a better looking machine resulted when the old round door front replaced the rectangular unit on the previous locomotives, and the hot water pump was moved to the normal front/side location.  Had to be easier to service as well. 

St. Louis to Fort Wayne, IN to Bellevue, OH to Columbus, OH to Portsmouth, OH to Bluefield, WV to Roanoke, VA.

I thought it has already been posted but, from memory, it should go through Ft Wayne to Bellevue, OH, then south to Portsmouth, OH, then east on the original N&W main line to Roanoke, VA.